Yvette Jarvis – Open Horizons Organization

                "World Arts Festival on Human Rights"

                 Athens, March 2001

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AS A MEDIUM FOR CREATIVITY

As the new millenium dawns in Greece the challenges this nation and it’s people face, are multiple.

The year 2001 finds Greece undergoing major transition.

Greece is undergoing transition from a society once homogenious, to a society rapidly becoming multicultural.

Transition from a country that once experienced mass exodus of its people as economic refugees,

To a country whose shores now harbour the hopes and dreams of hundreds of immigrants who flock to them daily.

Transition from a tiny country in europe solely focused on its own independence, to a major leadership role in the Balkans.

Transition from two state owned television stations, to hundreds of privately owned stations, offering even satellite coverage.

Transition from traditional cuisine found in the neighborhood tavernas, to restaurants with tastes from places as far reaching as Ethiopia, India, Mexico and Japan.

The decades of the 80’s and 90’s brought with them a bombardment of new stimuli to Greek society.

As we sat in our living rooms we began to experience life far from the Greek reality on a daily basis.

Music, trends, fashion, technology, behaviors and attitudes, very different from the norm.

I came to Greece some 18 years ago, and as a citizen of Greece I observe and paricipate in this transition. I often find myself experiencing déjà vu. Remnants of my past begin to creep into my consciousness.

As a black american growing up in the 70’s, my existence and life experience was immersed in transition. America was in transition.

The past twenty years had seen great upheaval in the U.S.

Cross cultural issues, identity issues and civil rights were battles that had been fought and won.

 Behind me lay a legacy of marches, sit-ins, protests and land mark court decisions.  The movement shocked the nation and jarred its existence, catulpulting the American Black to a status unprecedented. This was my inheritance that I now had to make good of.

I was no longer confined to an education amongst my own community. Doors to other influences now sprung open for me. The busing law was in effect. Black children all over America now travelled from inner cities to white suburbia and had the privilege of being educated amongst the privileged.

I was surrounded now by new friends, they were Jews, Italians, Greeks, Hispanics, Scandinavians and Asians.

My reality now included all kinds of new stimuli. I was introduced to cultures I had only read about once upon a time in books. I interacted on a daily basis with these people and that changed my life. My persona now included something of all of these influences.

Diversity was certainly not an issue for me when I arrived in Greece.

In retrospect however, as I prepared this speech I realized that on the contrary diversity was the key.

Diversity was the reason for my success in this once homogenious society!  Diversity was a catalyst for my creativity as a performing artist.

My whole background had been diverse. My education was diverse. My contact with other nationals was diverse!

I landed in Greece in 1982, wide eyed and ready for adventure. Needless to say I did not find many people who looked like me! The territory was not entirely virgin because of the U.S. military bases. None the less, I can remember answering thousands of questions, from what seemed to me hundreds of interrogations on a daily basis! My hair, my color, my origin, my features, all of these became topics of discussion!

Sympathizers to the black movement in the U.S. expressed their admiration for my races’ courage and tenacity. They lauded Dr. Martin Luther King, our athletic prowess and our musical endowment. On countless occassions they passionately exclaimed, “What would America be without blacks!

Their eyes teared as they spoke about Alex Haley’s “Roots”.  Their voices choked with disbelief that one man could treat another in such a barbaric fashion. Why, because of the color of their skin? Unthinkable! They reassured me that there were no such animals as racism, prejudice, and discrimination in their country. In their eyes we were all Gods' children.

I soon realized that I was in the unique position of being a diplomat for my people and many assumptions about my race would come from their interaction with me. I was also one of a kind!

How does diversity tie into motivation and creation? Simply overstated, in every way! Every aspect of my being in essence was a product of all of my multicultural experiences. Perhaps all of my endeavors in Greece are the outcome from that experience.

I began my career in Greece as a professional basketball player. I became a model and travelled all over Europe. I was the first Black American to speak Greek in a national advertisement. I later went on to television, presenting T.V. talk shows and acting. For the last 10 years I am also a performing artist.

To my basketball team, I brought the competitiveness of the American spirit and the tenacity of my American Indian heritage.

To the catwalks of Athens, I introduced New York style, grace and savvy. My fluidity of movement and carriage were my African heritage.

Once on the airwaves (T.V.), the flair was truly that of the entrepreneur which America produces. One who dares to chart uncharted waters. To go where no man or women has ever gone before. (I was the first woman to stay on air throughout her pregnancy).  My confidence was a combination of growing up with \Ophrah Winfrey, David Letterman, Johnny Carson and Arsenio Hall. It was easy to be me!

To the music, well music and its expression are the culmination of all experiences. You bring to it what life brings to you. 

Jazz, Americas' only original art form is the expression of my peoples freedom. I sing the blues of my people through the generations.

The passion of my greek experience comes alive in my performance. I was deeply moved by the passion in greek cadence and lyric.

The universality and pathos expressed by Hatzidakis. Without understanding the language I can remember the feelings of melancholy provoked by the passion of singers like Parios.

Melina Mercouri, how could I forget the passionate speeches Melina delivered, as she demanded the return of the Parthenon Marbles. I remember the feelings of triumph and the scent of revolution listening to the music of Theodorakis.

Language was not important. The music had transcended it all.

Over the last ten years through the mechanisms of cultural diversity, the Greek Music Scene has undergone tremendous change.

Greek artists now express their creativity through jazz, rap, hip-hop, and latin.

We can now enjoy the blends of cultures through joint ventures like the Blues and Rebetika. Artists are combining their talents with Yugoslavians, Turks and Latin Americans.

Diversity as a medium for creativity, in all it’s splendor!

As we face the new millenium the situation unravels. It seems that in the blink of an eye, the streets filled with strangers from far away lands, with far too many needs.

How can we absorb all of these people in our tiny country? Will they take our jobs? Will we lose our identity? These are some of the concerns expressed by my Greek compatriots. They are valid concerns.

The truth is, it is all so very new. There are no precedents or past experiences to handle what seems for many to be, “A Foreign Invasion”.

It saddens me somewhat to realize that the reassurances given to me in the 80’s, that prejudice and discrimination were non-existent in this society, somehow have fallen short of their promise.

The naivete, the curiosity and the probing which once were innocent gestures of a simple people, in the 90’s had begun to disappear.

Replacing them were contempt, suspicion, animosity and distrust.

Much to my dismay the demons of racial prejudice and discrimination had begun to rear their ugly heads in my paradise.

I could recount numerous incidents of negative behaviors directed at foreigners. I myself have stories to tell to support the above statements.

However, I feel that we should not dwell on what has occurred, but we should look to the future and invest our energy in preventing their repetition.

In all fairness to Greece and its residents there are many, many reasons for some of their negative reactions.

I say this not to excuse or justify their reactions, but the reality is, there are two sides to every argument. The problems and their causes must be studied from their many perspectives and dimensions.

Fundamental parameters influencing Greek reaction are:

          1)      The enormous influx of illegal immigrants

2)      Economic changes and pressures

3)      Soaring crime rates

4)      Soaring unemployment rates

Let me clearly state that I am in no way suggesting that the immigrants have caused these problems. Government data reveals that this is not necessarily the case.

 If we are to find solutions to the problem, we must first admit to the problem.

Greece, the country where “filoxenia” has it roots, has difficulty in admitting that current reactions no longer exemplify the Greece of the past.

I truly believe in my heart that the majority of Greeks have their hearts in the right place.

There have been countless examples of Greece at its best.  Aid given to Turkey, during the earthquake, the islanders whom on an almost daily basis, give shelter and refuge to boat refugees awash on their shores.

Greece is in a very unique position.

I believe that they can vicariously learn from so many other nations mistakes and triumphs. They have an enormous wealth of information at their disposal, from the American and European experience, dealing with these very issues.

Not to mention the experience of the Greek Diaspora. Their experiences in their adopted countries is of tremendous value in determing how they might confront the problems of immigration. By taking into account their feelings on how they were treated and how they could have been treated better when they themselves underwent the process of immigration.

Perhaps some of the suggestions would be applicable to Greek needs.

Solutions can only be found through methodical plannning, research, and most importantly complete knowledge of the situation.

Education must play the major role in solving potential problems.

Efforts like this festival, the cultural exhibit at the children’s museum, the multicultural schools and of all of the organizations promoting human rights are a great start.

Of course we have a long way to go, but with patience, love and understanding to guide us, we will and must succeed in eradicating injustice, discrimination, and racism.

Greece and its people don’t deserve to carry the burden of Racism..

In closing, I implore my compatriots to give those that came to this country a chance.

Eighteen years ago you gave me a chance to create and become that which I am. I don’t think I have disappointed you.

I know from experience what it means to waste the most precious commodity, "the human resource". We must learn more about our new neighbors. Their children, chances are, will know only the Greek reality. They will be Greeks in their hearts if you teach them well.  Greeks have become citizens of the world, is it so difficult to see others as citizens of Greece?

Allow these people to maintain their customs and traditions as you in their countries have maintained yours.

As multiculturalism seeps into and in my opinion enriches a culture already so rich that it gave democracy and “light” to the world, the future can only be brilliant!!!